Folding hatchet



Fume 5, 'H923 C' W. NELEMS FOLDING HATCHET Filed May 1, .1922,

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1&579636 CHARLES W. NELEIVISyOF BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T J' OvHN W. RIDDLE, 0F EAST LAKE, ALABAMA. i

FOLDING HATCHET.

Application 'led May 1,

To all Ywhom it may concern lBe it known Ythat I, CHARLES WILLIAM NELEMS, a citizen of the United States of Americaresiding at .Birmingham7 1n the county of Jefferson and State of Alabama,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements ,in `Folding Hatchets, of which :the/following is a specification.l

vThis invention relates to an improvement in folding hatchetsand has for its special purpose tolprovide a combination tool which will 'be off special service to campers and lfishermen who desire atool adapted for both chopping and digging bait.

A `further object of my vinvention 1s to simplify and perfect the manner of mounting the hatchet blade in its handle so that it can beeasily folded into or out of operating lposition and very positively and securely clamped lin either position by a single thumb screw.

A vfurther object is to design ythe hatchet lblade to receive and carry a reversible digging tool which is capable of being reversed Hto form a partial guard for the cutting yedge of the hatchet.

My invention further comprises the novel details lof construction and arrangements of parts7 which in ,their prefered embodiment .only are illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, and are described indetail in the 'following specification and the claims appended thereto 4It is to be yunderstood however that my yinvention maybe modified in various ways .in its detail structure without departing.y in substance from the invention as claimed.

yReferring to the drawings Fig. '1 is a side elevation of the folding hatchet showing the digging blade in operating position in full lines and in its inoperative position in dotted lines.

' AlFig. 2 is a perspective view showing the hatchet and digger blades about to be assembled with :the digger blade in itsinopera- 'tive' position. v

Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional View taken on :the-line 3-3 of l.

.'Fig. 4 is an elevation of the side bars 1922. Serial No. 557,711.

between which the hatchet head, not shown, is pivoted. i

l Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

In the embodiment of my invent-ion illustrated, I show a hatchet handle 1 formedof wood or other suitable material and .having its upper end reduced to receive flush therewith the concavo-convex bases 2 of the side arms 3, which arms are secured by screws or rivets 4: to the reduced portion and form Hush continuations of the handle proper which terminates at allevel with the upper ends of the bases 2 of the side arms. The arms are provided on their opposed inner faces with longitudinal central shoulders 5 having reversely sloping side edges. The arms at their upper ends are provided with inwardly disposed conical bosses o-rshoulders 6 terminating in` cylindrical tips or shoulders 7. A concave recess 8 is formed in the outer face of each arm opposite yits respective boss 6.

The hatchet blade comprises a solid .portion 9 and a blade portion 10 formed rintegral, the head having in the center of its opposite sides conical seats 10a corresponding in shape to the conical bosses 6 on the arms and provided with a bolt lhole' 11 of such diameter as to receive the shoulders i7 on the bosses. The head is also provided on each side with similar grooves 12 and 13 radiating at right angles'from said seat 10, eaclihaving sloping side walls with the same pitch as the sides of the shoulders '5, and each groove being adapted to receive with a snug lit one of the arms 3 with the shoulders 5 engaging the groove sides-before `the shoulders engage the bottom ofthe grooves, thereby securing a tight, non-rattling 'taper lit. The grooves 13 lie parallel with a horizontal central plane through the hatchet blade and the grooves 12 are disposed at right angles thereto. One of the bosses 6 is provided with a threaded bolt hole 15 vand I provide a thumb screw 16 'having its headv shaped to conform to the curvature of a socket 8 rhaving its shank threaded and adapted to pass through the members 7 and,

through the hatchet head 9 and to be yscrewed into the threaded opening 15, thus is in its inoperative position, shown indotted lines, Fig. 1, where it will be seen that the arms are of such length as to permit the blade to swing down between the arms with its cutting edge just clearing the upper end of the handle 1.

I pro-vide a hole 17 through the rear end of the hatchet head 9 and I form it with a square seat at its lower end. Iinsert a bolt 18 therethrough, the upper threaded end of which is engaged by va thumb screw 19, and its lowerend has a squared shoulder engaging in the square seat at the lower end of the bolt hole.` Theupper threaded end of the bolt is passed through an elongated slot 20 formed in the shank- 21 of a digger blade 22, this slot having an enlarged central portion 23`. The slot`20 is of such shape as to permit the thumb screw 19, when disposed in alignment therewith, `to pass through the slot provided the bolt stands in the enlarged central portion 23.- When,

however,`the bolt is moved to either reduced end of the slot the digger shank'cannot be disengaged from the bolt without the complete removal of the wing nut 19. The shank isprovided at one end with a shoulderv24 andl near the base of the blade with a corresponding shoulder 25, these shoulders being adapted to engage one end of the tip edge of thehe'ad 9 andthe shoulder 26 in the head at the commencement of the top edge of the blade portion 10. The body portion of the digger is struck on a curve, as shown,

and it can be reversed so that the blade proi ,hatchet blade 10 or projects so as to over- 'Figx 1.

hangrvandv guard the upperedge of the hatchet blade 10, as shown in dotted lines,

The arms 3 are normally set to diverge slightly as indicated bythe dotted lines, Fig. 4, the advantage of this'being that as the thumb screw16 `is, tightened they arms first bind against the groove sides 14 at the v lower end of the grooves in alignment therewith, and as the thumb screw is further tightened the bosses 6 are drawn down into and engage the sockets securely. This gives a joint which is very secure and .freek from any tendency to rattle. The taper engagement between the shoulders 5 and the groove sides 14 makes it possible to swing the hatchet blade from one to the other position ,rw-ith only a few turns to loosen the thumb screw as the arms will spread and permit the blade to turn. The digger blade may be reversed if desired but it is normally held fthreads on theclamp screw.

jects in the opposite direction from the` on the hatchet ,head and can be reversed by loosenin its wing nut 19 sutliciently for the shank s oulders 24, '25 to disengage the shoulderson the hatchet hea-d 9. The square shoulder on the bolt 18 holds it against turning. l 'alaving thus described my invention,v what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a foldinghatchet, va handle lhaving spaced blade supporting arms, a hatchet blade pivotally mounted between saidv arms,

a clamp screw passing through a hole in the accordance with y 3. A folding hatchet comprising handle lhaving spaced, blade supportingv arms,v a hatchet Iblade disposedbetween ther'arm's, said blade having opposite tapering sockets merging into a'transverse hole through the` blade, said larms havino'y taperedy .bosses adapted to interfit in `said sockets, "and a clamp screw inserted through the bosses and through the yhole` in the blade to .clamp it in position, said bladehaving longitudinal, and

transverse grooves radiating sockets and shaped to. receive the arms.

4. A folding hatchet, in accordancefwith claim 8, in which the arm 4'bosses haveconfrom its cave seats in their outerfaces, and in which.,`

only one boss has lthreads to'l engagethe 5. A folding hatchet comprisinga handle having spaced blade receiving .arms divergent towards their free ends, a hatchet blade Aadapted to be mounted betweensaid arm and havingv apivot hole and radiating grooves therefrom adapted each to receive an arm, and aclamp screw engaging the` arms 4*and* passingthrough thepivot hole of theblade l and adapted todraw thevfree ends of said arms under tension ,into substantial .parallelism against the blade, said arms and groove having wedgi-ng cofacting faces.

6. A foldino having spaced bladesupporting arms, a hatchet blade pivotally mounted between the arms, means to clamp the bladeinfposition in different adjusted positions betweensaid hatchet comprising a handle 1.

arms, spaced oppositely facing shoulders on the upper edge ofthe blade,` abit adapted to occupy an yadze like relationlto the head in one position'and toeverhang the cutting` end of the blade in. the' other position, said bit having shoulders adapted to interlock with the shoulders on the blade, on the bolt and hatchet 'to prevent the or- 10 and means to clamp said guard in position mers rotation, and a thumb screw on the on the blade. bolt, said slot being shaped fory the passage 7. A folding hatchet, in accordance with therethrough of the thumb screw when in claim 6, in Which the clamp means for alignment therewith. mounting the bit comprises aJ bolt passing In testimony whereof I aix my signature. 15 vertically through the back endof the blade, CHARLES W. NELEMS. there bein a longitudinal slot in the bit Witness-z through wich said bolt projects, shoulders NoMIE WELSH. 

